Prompting AI - By Kaveeshan Gnanarajah

 Prompting AI - By Kaveeshan Gnanarajah

In today’s world, AI has become relied on by a variety of people ranging from top board members in some of the most well-known companies, to your simplest highschooler. No matter what your need is, I’m sure most of you have utilized AI to some capacity. With that being said, most people don't realize that the quality of your AI’s response depends basically entirely on how well you ask the questions. Terrible prompting leads to vague and useless answers that only waste your time. On the other hand, if you’re able to ask the right questions, you can see the real intelligence behind AI, as it shows you all the answers you need. Obviously, I'm not saying to use AI for everything, it's important to have your own say and brain in decisions. AI is really good at coming up with ideas when you need it, but ensure the words you are writing are your own, not AI’s. All I’m trying to show is how powerful of a tool it can be if you use it correctly. Okay so let's imagine you need help with brainstorming topics with a history essay. Asking “help me with my essay for history class,” will obviously not get you the brainstorming you want. AI will probably run over every minute detail about the structure of an essay and simply waste your time. If you asked instead “I’m writing a 5-paragraph argumentative essay for my history class. This unit is about _____. Can you help me brainstorm a list of ideas?” By filling in the blank for the prompt, the general topic you are learning, AI will provide a ton of ideas that perfectly fit your needs, allowing you to pick one of them, and start your writing adventure! The second prompt realistically took fifteen extra seconds to write, but probably saved you an extra ten minutes of frustration, trying to get the AI to understand your needs. If you don’t understand it yet, it’s important to be specific. AI can only assume so much, the more details you provide, the better it can change its response and actually fulfill your needs.

“Welcome to Zscaler Directory Authentication.” Fortune.com, 2025, fortune.com/2025/10/01/citi-ai-prompt-training-mandate-employees-reskilling-workforce-business/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.

Golden, Ryan. “Citi Rolls out AI Prompt Training Requirement to Most Staff.” HR Dive, 15 Oct. 2025, www.hrdive.com/news/citi-ai-prompt-training-requirement/802862/.